Hey America, Feeling Lucky? Alpine's A390 Might Just Cross the Pond
Image Credit: Alpine.
The French are at it again, and this time, they're not just threatening us with surprisingly good cheese or another existential film. No, the artisans at Alpine, Renault's sporty offspring, have decided the world – and potentially even America – needs another electric car. This one's called the A390, and it's a fastback. Remember fastbacks? Sleek, a bit racy, and usually better looking than a bread van. So far, so good.
Alpine is curating a "Dream Garage" for us, entirely electric, of course. Because dreams these days are powered by lithium-ion and a silent approach. A year after they teased us with the A290 hot hatch (think a go-kart that's had a few too many espressos), they've rolled out this A390. It's aiming to be the do-it-all of their lineup: sporty enough to make you grin, practical enough to not make your significant other immediately file for divorce when you bring it home.
Image Credit: Alpine.
It's got five doors, which is three more than strictly necessary for a sports car, but we'll let that slide for the sake of "usability." Alpine says it borrows design cues from the rather lovely A110 coupe, but stretched and puffed up a bit, like a prize-winning baguette. Thankfully, it still looks a lot like the rather dramatic A390_β concept they showed off in October 2024. The edges are a bit softer, as they always are when the grown-ups in accounting get involved, but it's still got a presence. It's certainly more "look at me" than your average electric crossover that resembles a startled kitchen appliance.
You'll get to choose between two flavors at launch: GT and GTS. The main difference seems to be badges and different wheels, which will come in either 20 or 21 inches. That's big enough to make a statement about the quality of your local roads. It's got a roofline that slopes more dramatically than my enthusiasm for early morning meetings, some rather fetching triangle accents on the front bumper, and full-width LED light bars at both ends so everyone knows you've bought something modern. There are even little nods to the A110 along its flanks, which is nice. And with a respectable 6 inches of ground clearance and some "discreet lower cladding," it's sort of rugged… ish.
Image Credit: Alpine.
This electrifying piece of French artistry measures up at 181.7 inches long, 74.2 inches wide, and a fairly svelte 60.3 inches tall. That makes it about 5.4 inches shorter and 3.6 inches lower than a Tesla Model Y. So, it's not quite a hatchback, not quite an SUV. It's a… well, it's an A390. It sits on the AmpR Medium platform, the same underpinnings as the Renault Megane E-Tech and Nissan Ariya. However, Alpine assures us they've sprinkled their own special brand of Gallic magic on it, tuning the chassis and software for "more dynamic potential." One certainly hopes so.
Pop open the door, and the show car's wild, futuristic interior has, predictably, been replaced with something more sensible. It's a five-seater, which is good for school runs, if your children appreciate Nappa leather Sabelt bucket seats (standard in the GTS, naturally). The dashboard shares a family resemblance with the aforementioned Renault Megane E-Tech, featuring a 12.3-inch digital screen for the driver and a 12-inch central touchscreen for poking at things. Alpine added its own steering wheel and center console, plus fancier trim materials, to remind you that you're in something a bit more special. Or at least, a bit more expensive.
Image Credit: Alpine.
And speaking of expensive, the sound system is a 13-speaker Devialet setup, pumping out 850 watts. That should be enough to drown out the kids asking "Are we there yet?" or the eerie silence of the electric motors. For practicality, you get a 18.8-cubic-foot cargo area. Enough for a weekend away, provided you pack light.
But who cares about cargo space when there's power to discuss? The A390 gets a really exciting tri-motor all-wheel-drive setup. One motor at the front, two at the rear, all working together with something called Alpine's Active Torque Vectoring. The goal is to make this not-insubstantial car feel more nimble than a ferret, and to combat the usual EV heft that can make some of them handle like a tranquilized manatee.
Image Credit: Alpine.
The entry-level GT model offers a perfectly adequate 396 horsepower. But if "adequate" isn't in your vocabulary, the GTS version bumps that up to a more enthusiastic 463 horsepower. Torque figures are equally robust, with the GT giving you 479 lb-ft and the GTS a tree-stump-pulling 596 lb-ft. Naught to 62 mph in the GTS is dispatched in a brisk 3.9 seconds, and it'll keep going until it hits 137 mph. Not warp speed, but certainly enough to get you into trouble with the local highway patrol.
And here's a feature for the impatient among us: an "overtake" function! Yes, a button that gives you a temporary power boost for 10 seconds. Think of it as your own personal "engage ludicrous speed" moment, albeit one that requires a 30-second cooldown. It's like a video game power-up, which is either brilliant or utterly daft, I haven't decided yet. Oh, and because electric cars are too quiet for some, you can choose between two "Alpine Drive Sound" profiles – "Daily" and "Sport" – which pipe synthetic engine noises into the cabin. Apparently progress means faking the sounds of the past. Marvelous.
Image Credit: Alpine.
All the electric bits are fed by an 89 kWh lithium-ion battery, which Alpine claims is good for a WLTP range of somewhere between 323 and 345 miles. As always, expect that to translate to "a bit less" in the real world, especially if you're exploring that 3.9-second acceleration too often. When it's time to plug in, the A390 supports up to 190 kW DC fast charging, which is respectable enough.
To keep it all stuck to the road, the A390 gets a dedicated suspension with hydraulic stops, a trick borrowed from the dearly departed Renault Megane RS hot hatch. The engineers also went for a "very short steering ratio" for that go-kart feel and apparently spent a lot of time fiddling with the braking feel, which is crucial in an EV with regenerative braking. And to top it all off, bespoke Michelin tires designed specifically for the A390. They really are throwing the kitchen sink at this one.
Image Credit: Alpine.
When can you get your hands on this slice of electric French toast? Orders will open in mainland Europe and the UK in the fourth quarter of 2025. As for the price, well, you better be sitting down for this one. Early estimates put the GT at around $81,300 and the GTS closer to $94,800. For context, that plonks it squarely in Porsche Macan EV territory. It's a bold move, Alpine; let's see if it pays off.
Now, for the big question: will you be able to buy one in the good ol' US of A? Alpine had grand plans to storm the American market in 2027, but it seems those plans have hit a bit of a snag in the form of tariffs on imported vehicles. Given the A390 is about as French as a striped shirt and a string of onions – built in Dieppe, powertrains from Cleon, batteries from Dunkirk and Douai – those tariffs could make it pricier than a five-star week in Paris. So, for now, the American dream is on pause. Much depends, apparently, on how talks between Europe and a certain US president unfold. Politics and cars, a tale as old as time.
Image Credit: Alpine.
Still, it's an interesting proposition, this A390. It's stylish, it's quick, and it's packed with tech. It's also trying to be many things to many people, which can sometimes be a recipe for being not quite enough of anything for anyone. But Alpine seems confident, and I certainly won't argue with a company that gave us the original A110.
